Board rules Jennifer Hudson family slaying suspect to stay in jail

UPI News Service, 11/10/2008

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board Monday ruled that a person of interest in the triple homicide of Jennifer Hudson's family must stay behind bars.

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William Balfour, the estranged husband of the singer-actress's sister Julia, has been held since Oct. 24, the day Hudson's mother and brother were found shot to death in their Chicago home. The body of Hudson's slain 7-year-old nephew was recovered in a parked SUV several days later.

Balfour hasn't been charged in connection with the killings but has been held on an alleged parole violation since shortly after they occurred.

The Chicago Tribune said the board decided there is sufficient evidence to suggest Balfour violated his parole and the ruling means he is to stay in prison while the investigation into the Hudson family slayings is conducted.

Jorge Montes, the board's chairman, told the Tribune the decision was made in part because of Balfour's girlfriend's claims that she had seen Balfour with a firearm that matched the weapon used in the triple homicide.

The board also alleged Balfour, who wasn't represented by a lawyer at the hearing, had violated the terms of his parole in a separate incident by going to places where drugs were dealt, the Tribune reported.